This is a vegetarian filler that I made for a jewelry party hosted by a friend. She had sparkling cider and a chocolate fountain and at the last minute I offered to bring this over so there would be a savory option with all the sweet. It's filling and is great by itself on a wrap, or as a spread with bread.
Cheese Eggplant Spread
Ingredients
* 1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
* 1 green pepper, chopped
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 large eggplants, peeled and cubed
* 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
* 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
* 1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese
Directions
1. Saute the cabbage and green peppers in olive oil.
2. Add the eggplant, salt, and hazelnuts. Cover and simmer gently until soft.
3. Cool for a minute or two and crush slightly while mixing in the grated cheese.
It was surprisingly easy to throw together and has a pretty mild flavor while the hazelnuts offer an interesting texture.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Spicy Peanut Noodles with Chicken
I've been doing better trying recipes again, I'm going to try to keep up the once a week format on the blog. With a family dinner on Sunday and my 2 year old sleeping at least half of the nights I should be able to stretch out a bit. I made the Thai noodle dish on Saturday, Friday was a barbecued turkey bake, and Sunday was Strawberry crumble bars. Not a huge fan of the turkey bake but the other two were delicious. I'm featuring the Thai because I found a homemade chili garlic sauce to go with it and it was more involved so I have more to say.
Spicy Peanut Noodles with Chicken
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
* 2 medium cloves of garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
* 5 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1 tablespoon chile garlic sauce
* 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
* 1 tablespoon peanut oil
* 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into tenders
* 1 tablespoon table salt
* 1/2 pound dried Asian noodle
* 2 carrots, julienned
* handful snow peas or sugar snaps, trimmed
* 1 small red bell pepper, julienned
Directions
1. Bring 6 quarts water to boil in stockpot over high heat.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in saute pan or wok. Stir-fry chicken breasts until lightly browned, 4 to 8 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside.
3. Mix peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar until smooth.
4. Steam vegetables.
5. Using same water, prepare noodles following package directions.
6. Mix vegetables and chicken with sauce in saute pan until heated through. Reduce sauce a bit if necessary. Add noodles and toss thoroughly to combine.
The chili garlic sauce can be found here http://vietworldkitchen.typepad.com/blog/2007/10/homemade-chili-.html I used Lili's cooked sauce because with the simmering I expected a more mild flavor. The dish was spicy, but not overwhelming. And I'm not a huge chili fan. In fact I tend to be pretty leery of heat. Which is good since my family is even milder than me. I used a combination of poblano and jalapenos. It was what was fresh at our local farmstand.
Now, I don't have a steamer so I balance a corner of our large colander over the pot and covered it with saran wrap. It worked and I'm excited to venture more into steaming. I also realized I didn't have any fresh ginger or asian noodles so I substituted powdered ginger and whole wheat spaghetti. My problem is that I buy most of the ingredients and then add the recipe to my mental queue, forgetting that I waited on some ingredients planning on buying them at the farmstand or just being indecisive.
The reason I did all this Saturday is because my husband requested an unscheduled day, and so I knew this would keep me busy and at home. Otherwise I sit around until I can't stand it and then need to go somewhere or get grouchy in general. As it was, my good friend called offering raspberries so I ran this dish up and we did lunch and let the kids play. So that evening I came home and made freezer jam. I'm thrilled to have two kinds of jam to choose from first and I'm looking forward to trying Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins with the fresh berries. I should probably go make those. Hope you're all trying new things and enjoying the summer bounty as well.
Spicy Peanut Noodles with Chicken
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
* 2 medium cloves of garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
* 5 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1 tablespoon chile garlic sauce
* 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
* 1 tablespoon peanut oil
* 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into tenders
* 1 tablespoon table salt
* 1/2 pound dried Asian noodle
* 2 carrots, julienned
* handful snow peas or sugar snaps, trimmed
* 1 small red bell pepper, julienned
Directions
1. Bring 6 quarts water to boil in stockpot over high heat.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in saute pan or wok. Stir-fry chicken breasts until lightly browned, 4 to 8 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside.
3. Mix peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar until smooth.
4. Steam vegetables.
5. Using same water, prepare noodles following package directions.
6. Mix vegetables and chicken with sauce in saute pan until heated through. Reduce sauce a bit if necessary. Add noodles and toss thoroughly to combine.
The chili garlic sauce can be found here http://vietworldkitchen.typepad.com/blog/2007/10/homemade-chili-.html I used Lili's cooked sauce because with the simmering I expected a more mild flavor. The dish was spicy, but not overwhelming. And I'm not a huge chili fan. In fact I tend to be pretty leery of heat. Which is good since my family is even milder than me. I used a combination of poblano and jalapenos. It was what was fresh at our local farmstand.
Now, I don't have a steamer so I balance a corner of our large colander over the pot and covered it with saran wrap. It worked and I'm excited to venture more into steaming. I also realized I didn't have any fresh ginger or asian noodles so I substituted powdered ginger and whole wheat spaghetti. My problem is that I buy most of the ingredients and then add the recipe to my mental queue, forgetting that I waited on some ingredients planning on buying them at the farmstand or just being indecisive.
The reason I did all this Saturday is because my husband requested an unscheduled day, and so I knew this would keep me busy and at home. Otherwise I sit around until I can't stand it and then need to go somewhere or get grouchy in general. As it was, my good friend called offering raspberries so I ran this dish up and we did lunch and let the kids play. So that evening I came home and made freezer jam. I'm thrilled to have two kinds of jam to choose from first and I'm looking forward to trying Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins with the fresh berries. I should probably go make those. Hope you're all trying new things and enjoying the summer bounty as well.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Art
This restaurant is found in the Four Seasons, Seattle. The ambience is contemporary, with handblown glass, and a clear, color changing bar that provides half of the light for the dining area. The cheese selection is varied, and tasty. Most impressive is the quality of the fruits and vegetables. Since it is in a hotel, we tried the fruit basket and I would love to have their produce supplier. Each fruit was sweet, and perfectly ripe.
As for dinner, I had their signature salmon dish, it's brushed with Indian spices, served with lobster and lobster sauce, and accompanied by pureed potatoes and spinach. My husband tried the lamb, which consisted of both a lamp chop and a shank, the shank was shaved and formed into a meatball, while the shank was served au jus over a bed of rainbow Kale. Lightly sauteed baby carrots and roasted fingerling potatoes rounded it out.
Since we were dancing later that evening I was uncharacteristically watching what I ate. They had a tasting menu, very tempting, which I skipped for the salmon, no appetizer and no dessert. Both meals were fantastic. I never would have considered combining lobster and salmon. The spices were flavorful and gave the top of the fish a nice textured crunch. The au jus with the lamb was reduced, deep and full-bodied. I've never seen a meatball made from shaved meat, but since I'm leery of ground meat, not that you can tell from my menus, it was ingenious. Instead of an after dinner mint they served silver dollar size cornbread and cranberry cookies. Surprisingly tasty and like a stone ground shortbread. I will be recommending those to all of my gluten-free friends.
I addition to our dine-in dinner, we indulged in late night desserts. The New York cheesecake with citrus sauce tops my list, although we did go chocolate free. The Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee was creamy and came with the first biscotti I like, chocolate hazelnut. Breakfast wasn't a homerun, but the homemade vanilla bean marshmallows are worth mentioning. So I have.
As for dinner, I had their signature salmon dish, it's brushed with Indian spices, served with lobster and lobster sauce, and accompanied by pureed potatoes and spinach. My husband tried the lamb, which consisted of both a lamp chop and a shank, the shank was shaved and formed into a meatball, while the shank was served au jus over a bed of rainbow Kale. Lightly sauteed baby carrots and roasted fingerling potatoes rounded it out.
Since we were dancing later that evening I was uncharacteristically watching what I ate. They had a tasting menu, very tempting, which I skipped for the salmon, no appetizer and no dessert. Both meals were fantastic. I never would have considered combining lobster and salmon. The spices were flavorful and gave the top of the fish a nice textured crunch. The au jus with the lamb was reduced, deep and full-bodied. I've never seen a meatball made from shaved meat, but since I'm leery of ground meat, not that you can tell from my menus, it was ingenious. Instead of an after dinner mint they served silver dollar size cornbread and cranberry cookies. Surprisingly tasty and like a stone ground shortbread. I will be recommending those to all of my gluten-free friends.
I addition to our dine-in dinner, we indulged in late night desserts. The New York cheesecake with citrus sauce tops my list, although we did go chocolate free. The Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee was creamy and came with the first biscotti I like, chocolate hazelnut. Breakfast wasn't a homerun, but the homemade vanilla bean marshmallows are worth mentioning. So I have.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)